WO2005068327A1

WO2005068327A1 - Commissioning area and method for commissioning using a light grille

Info

Publication number: WO2005068327A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/000204
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gerhard Schäfer
Original assignee: SSI Schäfer PEEM GmbH
Priority date: 2004-01-13
Filing date: 2005-01-12
Publication date: 2005-07-28
Also published as: US8195326B2; US20060216138A1; US8428771B2; ATE350310T1; ES2278375T5; ES2278375T3; US20120277903A1; EP1641687B1; DE502005000280D1; DE102004002831A1; DE102004002831B4; EP1641687A1; EP1641687B2

Abstract

The invention relates to a commissioning area (10) comprising a buffer (12) for order containers (14) in which items can be commissioned, said buffer (12) comprising a plurality of adjacent buffer regions for respectively receiving an order container (14). According to the invention, a beam field (16) is provided above the buffer (12) in order to monitor the commissioning of items (28).

Description

Commissioning station and method for commissioning with a light quitter

The present invention relates to a picking station with a buffer for order containers into which articles can be picked, the buffer comprising one or more buffer positions, in particular arranged next to one another, for receiving an order container in each case.

The present invention further relates to a method for

Picking from a picking station of articles in

Order containers that can be stored in a buffer for order containers. Such a method and system are well known in the art.

For example, DE 101 36 354 AI a picking process and a co-commissioning system with a container store and an associated storage and retrieval unit for the removal or storage of storage containers. There is good to be coordinated in the storage containers. The goods to be picked can be any type of article that can be stored in such a container store.

The term "container" is not to be regarded as restrictive, but rather is an example of a large number of possible storage units, such as e.g. Trays, pallets and the like. The term "article" is to be understood as meaning objects which can be stored in a container store or storage containers. Articles can e.g. Medicines, tool parts or the like, which can be ordered by customers in any number and variety. The various articles ordered are then combined in a so-called order, the articles of the order generally being picked into one or possibly several order containers, which are then delivered to the customer.

A picking station in a picking system is understood to be a place where a picking person removes articles that are stored in the storage containers in order to then place them in the order containers provided. An “order container” is understood to mean a container in which goods or articles to be picked are placed. An order container can hold a large number of different articles until the order assigned to it has been processed, ie until all articles belonging to the order have been transported from the warehouse to the picking station and have been placed there by the picking person in the corresponding order container.

In recent times, people have started to design the picking process according to the "goods to man" principle. With the "goods to man" principle, the picking person is assigned a fixed workstation from which he moves as little and rarely as possible. The items to be picked are transported to the picking person in storage containers. This increases the efficiency of the overall system and fulfills the high ergonomic requirements that are increasingly coming to the fore today.

The storage containers are transported to the picking stations by means of appropriate conveyor technology. The order containers are "parked" at the picking station directly in front of the picking person. They are parked in a so-called order container buffer, which can accommodate a large number of order containers. The order container buffer is also connected to a, possibly further, conveyor system which transports empty order containers to the order picking station and completely picked order containers on a signal away from the order picking station. For this purpose, a pushbutton is provided in the prior art at the picking station, for example, with which the picking person can confirm a completed picking operation. For example, the picking person removes an article from a storage container and places this removed article in a corresponding order container. After the article has been placed in the order container, the picking person can press the button to confirm the picking process. A higher-level computer system records this signal and then decides whether the job has been completely processed or not. If the order container is completely picked, the order container can be removed.

This approach has several disadvantages. On the one hand, order containers are removed from the order container buffer, which may not yet have to be removed. This is particularly the case if the picking person presses the button by mistake even though he has not yet placed the item or items to be picked in the corresponding order container. On the other hand, the button could be actuated even though an insufficient number of articles were placed in the order container, so that the order is output to the computer system as being completed, although it is not.

There is also a not inconsiderable risk of injury. In order to increase the speed of the picking process, it is conceivable that the picking person puts the article to be picked into the order container with one hand while confirming the picking process with the other hand. This can lead to the picking person has one of her hands in the order container to be picked, while at the same time the computer system initiates the removal of this order container. The order container could then be moved out of the order container buffer, which can possibly lead to injuries to the order picking person, since he still has one of his hands in this order container.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a picking station and a method for picking that meet increased security requirements, both in terms of physical integrity and the avoidance of picking errors.

This task is solved by a picking station of the type mentioned in the introduction, in which a beam field is provided above the buffer in order to monitor picking of articles.

This object is further achieved by a method for picking of the type mentioned in the introduction, in which a beam field is generated over the buffer, an interrupt signal is detected which is generated by an interruption of beams in the beam field, and a first release signal is output which is an input Removing an order container from the buffer allowed.

By providing a beam field, in particular directly above the buffer for order containers, each order picking process can be monitored in two ways. On the one hand, it can be monitored whether the picking person has another or if applicable, has both of her hands in the order container while the removal of this order container has already started. On the other hand, it can be monitored whether a number of articles to be picked corresponding to a picking order has been placed in the corresponding order container.

In both cases, the beam field is interrupted either by the articles and / or the hands. On the one hand, this interruption can be used to determine whether the picking person has removed his hands from the order container. The beam field is no longer interrupted when the hands are removed. The order container can then optionally be transported out of the order container buffer. On the other hand, the number of interruptions caused by the insertion or insertion of the articles can be used to check whether the corresponding number of articles to be picked has been placed in the corresponding order container.

The risk of injury to yourself is considerably reduced for the picking person. It is no longer possible to remove the order containers while the picking person still has his hands in an order container. It is also possible to prevent the order container from being transported away prematurely without the desired number of articles having been placed in the correct order container in accordance with the picking order, since the number of interruptions in the beam field can be used to determine the number of articles placed in the order container. According to a preferred embodiment, the beam field is arranged, in particular directly, above the openings of the order container.

The closer the blasting field is arranged above the openings of the order container, the easier it is to reconstruct the location at which the blasting field is interrupted by a passage of a hand and / or an article, and with knowledge of the relative positions of the blasting field to those in the buffer Assign order containers to an order container. On the other hand, there is also a better time allocation, since the distance that an article given by the beam field has to travel from the beam field to the bottom of the order container is shorter.

It is particularly preferred if the beam field comprises a plurality of transmitter / receiver pairs for emitting beams and for receiving the emitted beams.

The more beams form the beam field, the better the location of the beam interruption can be localized or reconstructed. The number of transmitter / receiver pairs and their distance from one another is directly related to the local resolution. The local resolving power can be used to assign an article interrupting the beam field to an order container located in the order container buffer.

It when the transmitter / receiver pairs are arranged in a bar is particularly advantageous. A bar with transmitter / receiver pairs can be easily installed over the order container buffer. The adjustment required when installing a beam field can be reduced to an adjustment of two units, namely the strips which contain the transmitter / receiver pairs, instead of the transmitter or receiver of each transmitter / receiver pair individually adjusting to one another would have to be.

It is further preferred if transmitters of the transmitter / receiver pairs are arranged on a first bar and receivers of the transmitter / receiver pairs on a second bar, so that a beam field can be generated from, in particular parallel, beams between the first and the second bar is.

This measure also simplifies the adjustment of the beam field above the order container buffer.

It is also advantageous if the transmitter and receiver of the transmitter / receiver pairs are arranged alternately on one and the same bar in order to generate a crossed beam field with a further bar of the same design.

A crossed beam field has the advantage over a beam field made of parallel beams that the space between the otherwise parallel beams can also be monitored. Depending on the angle between the crossing beams, the monitoring location, ie the location where the beams cross, can be varied. This is particularly the case when the beam field is formed by means of two strips arranged opposite one another. According to a further preferred embodiment, the beam field can be coupled to means for detecting and evaluating a signal which is generated when an article to be picked or a body part of a picking person interrupts a beam of the beam field.

Such a means for acquiring and evaluating a signal could be a microcomputer that is, for example, directly coupled to the electronics of the beam field in order to directly evaluate the received signals. This measure relieves the computer which is responsible for monitoring the entire system by reducing the workload.

It is further preferred if the means for recording and evaluating can determine the location of the interruption in order to be able to assign an order container to the signal-generating article.

In this way it can be determined directly whether the picking person has put the article to be picked into the correct order container in the order container buffer. If necessary, the means for recording and evaluating can be directly coupled to the computer monitoring the entire system in order to issue a corresponding error message. However, you can also directly output a signal that informs the picking person that the current picking process is or was incorrect. The picking person can thus correct the error directly, ie on site. The otherwise incorrectly picked order container therefore does not have to be picked for troubleshooting, ie it does not have to be brought back into the overall process of the system which significantly increases the overall efficiency of the picking system.

It has proven to be advantageous if the transmitter / receiver pairs generate infrared rays or visible light.

Infrared light or visible light is harmless to the eyes of the picking person and thus complies with today's safety regulations.

It is particularly preferred if the beam field is formed from at least two mutually orthogonal transmitter / receiver pairs.

The provision of mutually orthogonal transmitter / receiver pairs increases the spatial resolution already mentioned above to a particular degree, since a second dimension can be introduced. This means that not only an X but also a Y component of a two-dimensional Cartesian beam field can be monitored.

According to a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, a first release signal is output when the beams are no longer interrupted.

The interruption of the beams of the beam field may correspond to the state in which a picking person has one of his hands in one of the order containers of the order container buffer. As long as the signal is interrupted, no release signal can or will not be issued that could trigger the removal of the order container. The danger that the picking person is injured because an order container in which the picking person has his hands is being removed is practically reduced to zero.

It is further preferred if the first release signal is output when the order container has been completely picked.

According to a further preferred embodiment, a second release signal is output when the order container has not yet been completely picked, so that further articles to be picked can be delivered to the picking station.

It goes without saying that the features mentioned above and those yet to be explained below can be used not only in the combination indicated in each case, but also in other combinations or on their own without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawing and are explained in more detail in the following description. Show it:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a picking station according to the present invention.

2 shows a two-dimensional beam field for a picking station according to the present invention, which is formed by two transmitter / receiver strips; 3 shows another beam field for a picking station according to the present invention, which is formed by two pairs of transmitter / receiver strips;

4 shows a crossed beam field for a picking station according to the present invention; and

5 shows a flowchart of the picking method according to the present invention.

A picking station according to the invention is generally designated with the reference number 10 below.

1 shows a schematic perspective view of a picking station 10 according to the present invention. The picking station 10 comprises a buffer 12 for order containers 14. Above the buffer 12 for order containers 14, a beam field 16 is arranged, which comprises a plurality of beams 18. The beams 18 are emitted by transmitters S and received by receivers E.

A transmitter S and a receiver E form a so-called transmitter / receiver pair. Both the transmitter S and the receiver E can be attached to or in strips 20. However, they can also be provided individually.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the transmitters S and receivers E are alternately attached to the strips 20 at the same distance from one another, so that the beam field 16 is formed from parallel beams 18. The distance between the transmitters S and receivers E of a bar 20 can be chosen as desired. The smaller the distance between the transmitter S and receiver E, the more transmitter S and receiver E must be provided per constant length of the strip 20, but the greater the possible local resolution.

Alternatively, however, only transmitters S can be provided on one of the strips 20, only receivers E then being provided on the opposite strip 20. The beam field 16 also does not necessarily have to consist of parallel beams 18. It can also be formed from beams which are oriented in any direction to one another and are each assigned to a transmitter / receiver pair.

Furthermore, a conveyor technology 22 can be seen in FIG. a roller conveyor (not shown) or a conveyor belt with which empty order containers 14 can be transported to the buffer 12 and commissioned order containers 14 can be transported away from the buffer 12.

Furthermore, a further conveyor technology 24 can be provided, which transports storage containers 26 from a container storage, not shown in FIG. 1, to order-picking station 10. The storage containers 26 contain articles 28 which are to be picked. For this purpose, an order picking person, not shown, removes the articles 28 from the storage container 26 and places them in the assigned order containers 14 that are already available. Such an order picking process is indicated schematically by an arrow 29.

In order to be able to transfer the article 28 from the storage container 26 into the order container 14, the picking person must do this Cross the beam field 16 at least with the article 28 that is to be picked. In the case of particularly fragile articles, the picking person will generally place the fragile article 28 in the order container 14 by hand. She also reaches through the beam field 16 with her hand.

Thus, as a rule, at least one of the beams 18 of the beam field 16 is interrupted either by an inserted article 28 or by a hand or an arm of the picking person. As long as the beam 18 is interrupted, it is clear that either an article 28 is being placed in an order container 14 or an arm or hand reaches through the beam field 16.

As will be explained in connection with FIG. 2, one or more strips 20 can be connected to means 30 for detecting and evaluating interrupt signals. The strips 20 can have the means 30 integrated. The interruption of a beam 18 can be detected with these means 30. Depending on this, signals to be explained later can be output. The location of the interruption can also be determined by means 30.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the beam field 16, the left bar 20 having only receivers and the right bar 20 having only transmitters. The right bar 20 is coupled to the means 30 for detecting and evaluating interruption signals. The means 30 are not shown in more detail. An article 28 is passed through the beam field 16 of FIG. 2 in the direction of an arrow 32. It can clearly be seen that the beams 18 are interrupted in the area of the beam field 16 in which the article 28 is located. On the left bar 20 one can still see a receiver E, which due to the article 28 in the beam path does not receive a beam 18. The beam 18 of this transmitter / receiver pair is thus interrupted. This interruption can be detected and evaluated by the means 30. Among other things, this provides information about the location of the interruption. If the position of the order containers 14, which are not shown here, relative to the beam field 16 is known, the location of the interruption can thus be assigned to at least one of the order containers 14.

In order to further improve the local assignment, a further pair of strips 20 can preferably be oriented essentially orthogonally to the first pair of strips 20. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 3. Should it be desirable to include information about the third dimension, i.e. to obtain the height, several beam fields 16 could be arranged one above the other. Such an arrangement is not shown in the figures.

The manner in which the beams 18 are oriented towards one another in the beam field 16 can also be chosen as desired.

4, for example, a crossed beam field 16 is shown. In this case, a transmitter and receiver are arranged directly adjacent to each other on the same bar.

5, the picking method according to the present invention will be described. In a first step S1, the storage containers 26 are transported to the picking station 10 according to the invention, for example, via the conveyor technology 24 shown in FIG. 1. Empty order containers 14 are transported to the buffer 12 for order containers 14, for example by means of the conveyor technology 22 shown in FIG. 1. A feed / discharge device, not shown in FIG. 1, ensures that the order containers 14 are moved into or out of the buffer 12.

In a step S2, the processing of a picking order is started. A picking order can consist of several articles 28 to be picked. Articles 28 may be of the same or different types. As a rule, however, the storage containers 26 only contain articles 28 of the same type. If several different article types are to be picked for a picking order, it may be necessary for several storage containers 26 to be transported to the picking station 10 via the conveyor technology 24. The order picking person then takes the number of articles 28 corresponding to the order picking order from the storage containers 26. For this purpose, a display can be provided in the area of the order picking station 10, which is also not shown in FIG. 1 and indicates to the order picking person how much article 28 from the storage container 26 can be seen.

Furthermore, the storage containers 26 can be subdivided as such, so that several types of articles can also be located in one and the same storage container 26. In order to indicate to the picking person which of the different article types he has to pick, an optical display system for the picking station, also not shown in FIG. onierplatz 10 may be provided. For this purpose, for example, a light beam from the top of the storage container 26 could point to the corresponding article type. The same applies to the specification of the destination, ie the order container 14, should there be several order containers 14 in the buffer 12.

In a further step S3, the picking person removes the desired article 28 from the storage container 26 and places it in the predetermined order container 14.

The article types to be picked can be divided into two categories, regarding the way in which they have to be picked. This is the so-called "dropable" category on the one hand, and the "non-dropable" category on the other. "Dropable" articles can be thrown into the order container 16 through the beam field 16 shown in FIG. 1. "Non-dropable" articles must be placed or placed in the order container 14 by the picking person by hand.

In both cases, however, the beam field 16 is traversed either by an article 28 alone or by an article 28 in connection with at least one hand or arm of the picking person.

In a further step S4, the means 30 for detecting and evaluating, for example, at any periodic time intervals that can be selected, asks whether there is an interruption in the beam field 16. However, this query can also be carried out by the warehouse management System, which can be implemented by a mainframe or PC.

If it is determined that the beam field 16 has not been interrupted, the system knows that the article 28 to be picked is not yet in the order container 14 assigned to it. The step S3 of removing the article 28 and placing it in the corresponding order container 14 is thus not yet complete.

However, if query S4 shows that beam field 16 is interrupted, a further query follows in a further step S5, with which the (temporal) end of the interruption is queried.

If the query S5 shows that the beam field 16 is still interrupted, the system waits for the end of the interruption in a further step S6.

If query S5 reveals, however, that the interruption has ended, a further query S7 determines whether the picking order to be carried out at the picking station 10 has ended completely. However, this does not mean that the picking order must be completed. For example, it is also possible for an order container 14 to be picked only partially at a first picking station 10 in order to then be routed to another picking station 10, where the picking order can finally be picked. If it is found in query S7 that the picking order has not yet been completely processed at the specific picking station 10, the means 30 can, for example, output a release signal in a step S8.

On the basis of the release signal output in step S8, in a further step S9 a new storage container 26 is transported to the picking station 10, which contains further articles 28 belonging to the picking order. The picking process is then continued in step S3.

If query S7 shows, however, that the picking order (at this picking station 10) has been completely processed, then a further release signal is output in a further step S10. The further release signal enables the order container 14, which has now been completely picked, to be transported out of the buffer 12. This is shown in a step S11 in FIG. 5. The picking process is now complete. It goes without saying that the process can now start again.

Claims

claims

1. Picking station (10) with a buffer (12) for order containers (14) into which articles can be picked, the buffer (12) comprising one or more, in particular juxtaposed, buffer spaces for receiving an order container (14), thereby characterized in that a beam field (16) is provided above the buffer (12) in order to monitor picking of articles (28).

2. picking station according to claim 1, characterized in that the beam field (16), in particular directly, is arranged above the openings of the order container.

3. Picking station according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the beam field (16) comprises a plurality of transmitter / receiver pairs for emitting beams (18) and for receiving the emitted beams (18).

4. Picking station according to claim 3, characterized in that the transmitter / receiver pairs are arranged in a bar (20).

5. picking station according to claim 4, characterized in that the transmitter (S) of the transmitter / receiver pairs on a first bar (20) and receiver (E) of the transmitter / receiver pairs are arranged on a second bar (20), so that a steel field (16), in particular parallel, Beams (18) between the first and the second bar (20) can be generated.

6. Picking station according to claim 4, characterized in that the transmitter (S) and receiver (E) of the transmitter / receiver pairs are alternately arranged on one and the same bar (20) in order to have a further bar (20) of the same design. to produce a crossed beam field (16).

7. picking station according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the beam field (16) can be coupled with means (30) for detecting and evaluating a signal which is generated when an article to be picked (28) or a body part of a Commissioner interrupts a beam (18) of the beam field (16).

8. Picking station according to claim 7, characterized in that a location of the interruption can be determined with the means (30) for detecting and evaluating, in order to assign an order container (14) to the signal-generating article (28).

9. Picking station according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transmitter / receiver pairs generate infrared rays or visible light.

10. Picking station according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the beam field (16) is formed from at least two mutually orthogonal transmitter / receiver pairs.

11. Picking station according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that a conveyor system (22) for the automatic transport of order containers and a control device for controlling the automated transport are also provided.

12. A method for picking at a picking station, which is preferably designed according to one of claims 1 to 11, of articles (28) in order containers (14) which can be stored in a buffer (12) for order containers (14), characterized by generating a beam field (16) over the buffer (12), detecting an interruption signal which is generated by an interruption of beams (18) of the beam field (16), and outputting a first release signal which is used to transport an order container (14) out of the buffer (12) allowed.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the beams (18) of the radiation field (16) are interrupted by articles to be picked and / or a hand of a picking person.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the first release signal is output when the beams (18) are no longer interrupted.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the first release signal is output when the order container (14) is completely picked.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that a second release signal is output when the order container (14) has not yet been completely picked, so that further articles to be picked can be delivered to the picking station (10).

17. Picking system with a picking station according to one of claims 1 to 11.